As I develop my sewing skills, I've been learning how to analyze and (more particularly fun!) copy patterns of clothing (and other such items) that I like. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible by taking something apart (I'd otherwise have some angry people, myself included, at home wondering things like, "what happened to my hat?" and "will you be able to put it back together?". Questions that I can only insufficiently answer with, "I don't know").

So, to try and bridge that gap, I find a garment with a grid pattern on it (plaids or chekers or something with straight lines) that I can use to measure whole blocks on the grid. I measure where the curves and angles begin and end by calculating their distance to "grid" lines. I then transpose these measurements/points to paper and "connect the dots" to draw a pattern. Add .5" for seam allowance, mark the angled cuts and I'm ready to make a pattern.

I've been wanting to try making boxers for a while – that opening in the middle looked so tricky to me. So, I found a pair with a nice checked pattern on it (sorry – I'd get in trouble if I showed you pics of THAT) and voila! I've included a pic of the measurements if you want to have a go at it. Maybe tomorrow I can actually make a pair. Until then…